The Theme of 'Everything Passes'

Explores the recurring insight that all suffering and joy are transient, culminating in Yozo's final acceptance of this truth.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The First Glimmer

The Sense of Impermanence The Hospital Stay Yozo was in the hospital after the Kamakura incident. He felt that everything was passing. The nurses laughed, the gum wrappers changed. The Reflection He began to think that nothing lasts. This thought was both comforting and terrifying. The Seed of Nihilism This was the beginning of his philosophy of "everything passes."

The Laxative Incident

The Final Lesson The Mistake Yozo took ten laxative pills thinking they were sleeping pills. He suffered diarrhoea. When he realized the mistake, he burst out laughing. The Thought He thought, "Now I have neither happiness nor unhappiness. Everything passes." The Acceptance This was the one truth he had learned. He had no more resistance. He simply accepted the flow of events.

The End of the Notebooks

The Final Sentence The Writing Yozo wrote, "Now I have neither happiness nor unhappiness. Everything passes." This is the last line of his notebooks. The Meaning It is a statement of complete resignation. He has ceased to struggle. He is a ghost. The Truth of the World He believes that this is the only truth he has found in the society of human beings, where he lived as in a burning hell.

college, after the suicide attempt

in the country, after the mental hospital

the end of the third notebook